Gophers men's hockey team trying to emerge from 'February funk'

Minnesota Gophers head coach Don Lucia has a word with his players during a Jan. 11 game with Alaska Anchorage at Mariucci Arena.
(Pioneer Press file photo: Ben Garvin)

"A little bit of a February funk" is how defenseman Nate Schmidt, a junior from St. Cloud, describes the Gophers men's hockey team's recent performances.

After a six-game winning streak through mid-January, Minnesota has split its past five series, and last month's 3-2-1 record belies its No. 2 national ranking. To stop the swoon from turning into a March malaise, the Gophers will need to put together a complete weekend series, starting Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2, against Denver at Mariucci Arena.

Coach Don Lucia, however, said the explanation has more to do with whom the Gophers have played, not how they've played. Recent splits have come against Minnesota State Mankato, St. Cloud State and North Dakota, teams within four points of one another in the top tier of the Western Conference Hockey Association.

"They are all high-level teams, and so what I like right now is that we've played pretty well," Lucia said.

With two remaining regular-season weekends left in WCHA history, the Gophers are two points behind conference leader St. Cloud State. To win their 14th regular-season title, the Gophers (21-6-5, 13-6-5) will need to dispatch Denver (16-10-5, 11-8-5) at Mariucci Arena.

It will be a tough task considering Denver has won eight of the past 10 games against the Gophers.

"They always seem to have a great goalie, and we, for whatever reason, seem to get 30 to 40 shots and score one or two goals," Lucia said.

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"They have obviously had very good teams over the years. We've had our issues scoring goals."

The Gophers' recent play has been a dichotomy of days as they've won every Friday night in February.

"The past couple of weekends, we've come out hot on Friday, just playing our game, sticking to the game plan," said senior defenseman Seth Helgeson.

But the Gophers have failed each Saturday, with no wins, two losses and one tie, with ninth-place Minnesota-Duluth on Feb. 23. Lucia said the Saturday game against UMD was deceiving.

"I thought we played better Saturday than we did Friday," he said. "We had more energy and more scoring chances."

Solitary sendoff

Saturday's senior night at Mariucci will be a solitary affair because Helgeson is the team's only senior.

"It's hard to believe that our senior night is going to be quick," Lucia said.

Helgeson, who has played in 142 games, including 114 consecutive, said it will be "odd" being the only one on the ice with his parents.

"It will be the fastest one in history," said the Faribault, Minn., native -- the only remaining player of four recruits in his freshman class. "It's only going to take 30 seconds, so it's not going to be such a distraction for the guys. That will be kind of nice."

Helgeson, who has three assists this season, is best in the games' shadows, Lucia said.

"When you don't notice him, that's when he's at his best," Lucia said. "He is not the type of player that is going to get a lot of notice because of the way he plays. He is the guy that is going to block a shot or defend or be out there in the last minute of a game ahead by one."

Helgeson also will protect his teammates, Schmidt said.

"He plays tough in those hard-nosed areas," Schmidt said. "He creates time and space for little guys like me to do our thing."

Briefly

Seth Ambroz will return to the lineup this weekend. Ambroz, who has nine goals and 16 points, hasn't played since Feb. 17 because of an upperbody injury.